Skip to Content
  • Home
  • About the Bar
  • Mission
  • Forms
  • Sitemap
    • Member Directory
      Last Name:
      First Name:
      Bar Number:
      City:


    • Login
OSB Logo

Oregon State Bar Bulletin — APRIL 2015



Parting Thoughts

The Cold Opening
By Ed Wesemann



Law firms are notoriously bad at execution. Law firms are usually pretty good at planning and plotting strategy, but when it comes to actually doing something, it’s generally bupkis. Actually, that’s not quite true. When law firms want to implement an idea, there is usually an elaborate rollout with a big hoopla with lots of meetings and training sessions. But typically, the furor lasts for about a week and then, like a child with a new toy, the firm’s attention is diverted by some new issue or problem. No wonder many partners refer to any attempt at change as “the flavor of the week.”

It kind of makes you wonder whether we’re approaching this in the wrong way. Could it be that a slow and deliberate implementation of a change, with minimum rigmarole, would actually be more effective? My wife and I walked by a new restaurant recently that we had never previously noticed, so we stopped in for an impromptu dinner. Aside from a few kinks in the service the meal was excellent. Given the quality of the meal, we were surprised that the place was less than half full. When the owner came around, I put on my management consultant hat and suggested that he should better publicize the grand opening to fill the place up. He explained that the restaurant was doing a “cold opening,” which involved no publicity, no reservations, just walk-ins. In fact, they purposefully limited the seating to only a few tables at a time. The concept was to get the basics correct while there was little pressure and then gradually add stress so that by the time word about the restaurant got around, the staff would be fully trained and ready for a full house.

That reminded me of a firm we worked with last year that wanted to change its culture of being less than fully enthusiastic about encouraging business development. As the older partners who controlled the lions’ share of the firm’s clients started to retire, the firm needed to change younger lawyers’ attitudes about the necessity of generating business. In fairness, most of these lawyers had been told for their entire careers that their job was to do top quality legal work and not to worry about marketing. Indeed, the criteria for making partner and the partner compensation system was largely based on collected revenues as a working lawyer with little perceivable attention paid to business origination.

Our natural reaction as consultants was to recommend that the firm roll out a full-scale business development training program and make elaborate changes in the compensation to show the change in the firm’s attitude and stress the importance of the generation of new client work. But the client balked fearing that such a demonstrative change could scare associates and cause confusion and mistrust among the partners. We tried to talk them into a more elaborate kickoff campaign, but they wouldn’t budge. The client did, however, agree to a low-key weekly firmwide email announcing new clients and major new matters for existing clients, together with recognition of the attorneys responsible for the engagements and a bit about how the client came to the firm. And, at year end, with very little comment, associates and partners who had been responsible for significant work received bonuses that exceed those of the hardest working lawyers.

Here’s the kicker: We are now only a year and a half into the change at this firm, but the impact on culture seems far more effective than we have seen at firms that started culture changes with a big rollout. Buoyed by the acceptance that has occurred, the firm is now starting to offer more training and marketing support which seems to be more culturally engrained that is usually the case with more traditional implementations.

Who knows? This may just be a unique situation with one firm. But if your lawyers are jaded with management initiatives and express ennui about strategic initiatives, consider the cold opening approach. Not only might it be more successful, but a quiet roll-out doesn’t require as much political capital from leaders… and the hollow “splat” noise won’t be quite as loud if it falls on its face.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ed Wesemann is a member of the Edge International consulting firm and a co-owner of Legal Resource Group, a recruiting firm specializing in senior administrative staff members. He has written four books on legal management issues and regularly writes on legal trends. He also maintains a blog site at www.edwesemann.com. He can be reached at (912) 598-2040 or ed@edwesemann.com. For more information visit the Legal Resource Group website at www.LRGLLC.com or the Edge International website, www.Edge-International.com.

© 2015 Ed Wesemann


— return to top
— return to Table of Contents



  • For The Public

      Public Legal Information

    • Public Information Home
    • Legal Information Topics
    • Oregon Juror Guide
    • Submit Ethics Complaint

    • Getting Legal Help

    • Finding The Right Lawyer
    • Hiring A Lawyer
    • Lawyers Fees

    • Client Services

    • Client Assistance Office
    • Client Security Fund
    • Fee Dispute Resolution
    • Public Records Request
    • Locating Attorney Files

    • Unlawful Practice of Law

    • UPL Information
    • UPL FAQ

    • Volunteer Opportunities

    • Public Member Application
  • For Members

    OSB Login

    • Log In To OSB Site
    • Member Account Setup
    • Non-Member Account Setup
    • Reset Password

    OSB Resources

    • Attorney's Marketplace
    • Career Center
    • Events
    • Forms Library
    • Online Resources
    • OSB Group Listings
    • Performance Standards
    • Rules Regulations and Policies
    • Surveys and Research Reports
    • Unclaimed Client Funds
    • Voting Regions and By-City
      County Information

    Fastcase™

    • Log in to Fastcase
    • Overview
    • Scheduled Webinars
    • Inactive Member Subscriptions

    Legal Ethics

    • Legal Ethics Home
    • Find an Ethics Opinion
    • Bulletin Bar Counsel Archive

    Company Administrator

    • Company Administrator Home
    • Company Administrator FAQ
    • Authorization Form

    State Lawyers
    Assistance Committee

    • SLAC Info

    Volunteering

    • Volunteer Opportunities

    Court Information

    • Judicial Vacancies
    • Court Info | Calendars | Jury Info
    • Oregon Attorneys
      in Federal Court
    • Tribal Courts of Oregon

    OSB Publications

    • Bar Bulletin Magazine
    • – Bulletin Archive
    • – Legal Writer Archive
    • Capitol Insider
    • Disciplinary Board Reporter

    PLF Programs

    • (OAAP) Oregon Attorney
      Assistance Program
    • Practice Management Attorneys
    • Malpractice Coverage
  • CLE/Legal Publications

    CLE Seminars

    • CLE Seminars Home
    • Online Seminar Registration
    • General Info/FAQ

    My Account

    • My Content
    • My Events
    • Order History

    Legal Publications

    • Legal Publications Home
    • Log in to BarBooks®
    • BarBooks® FAQ
    • Online Bookstore
    • Legal Pubs Blog
  • Bar Programs

    Diversity & Inclusion

    • Diversity & Inclusion Home
    • Diversity Story Wall
    • D&I Programs
    • ACDI Roster
    • D&I Staff Contacts
    • D&I Links

    Legislative/Public Affairs

    • Legislative Home
    • Committee Contacts
    • Legislative Sessions
    • Staff Contacts
    • Useful Links

    Legal Services Program

    • LSP Home

    Oregon Law Foundation

    • OLF Home
    • Partners in Justice

    Fee Dispute Resolution

    • Fee Dispute Resolution Home

    Pro Bono

    • Pro Bono Home
    • Pro Bono Reporting
    • Volunteer Opportunities

    Lawyer Referral and Information Services

    • RIS Login
    • Summary of Referral and Information Services Programs
    • Lawyer Referral Service Info and Registration Forms
    • Modest Means Program Registration Forms
    • Military Assistance Panel Training Info and Registration Form
    • Problem Solvers Registration Form
    • Lawyer To Lawyer Registration Form

    (LRAP) Loan Repayment Assistance Program

    • LRAP Home
    • LRAP FAQ
    • LRAP Policies
  • Member Groups

    Sections

    • Section Info/Websites
    • Joining Sections
    • CLE Registration Services
    • Standard Section Bylaws (PDF)
    • Leadership Resources
    • Treasurers Tools

    Committees

    • Home
    • Leadership Resources
    • Professionalism Commission
    • Volunteer Opportunities

    House of Delegates

    • HOD Home
    • HOD Resources
    • Meetings
    • Rules (PDF)
    • Roster (PDF)
    • Staff Contacts

    Board of Governors

    • BOG Home
    • Meetings & Agendas
    • Members
    • Liaisons
    • Committees
    • Resources
    • Task Forces

    Oregon New Lawyers Division

    • ONLD Home
    • Law Students
    • Student Loan Repayment
    • Committees
    • Upcoming Events

    Task Forces and Special Committees

    • Task Forces Home

    Volunteer Bars

    • List/Contacts
    • Leadership Resources

    Volunteering

    • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Licensing/Compliance

    Admissions

    • Admissions Home
    • Alternative Admittance
    • Applicants for Admission
    • Admissions Forms
    • Past Bar Exam Results

    Supervised Practice Portfolio Examination

    • SPPE Home

    Licensed Paralegal Program

    • LP Home

    Lawyer Discipline

    • Discipline Home
    • Disciplinary Board Reporter
    • Disciplinary Boards
    • Client Assistance Office
    • (SPRB) State Professional Responsibility Board

    Membership Records

    • Address Changes
    • Good Standing Certificate
    • Request Discipline File Review

    MCLE

    • MCLE Home
    • Program Database
    • Forms
    • Rules (PDF)

    IOLTA Reporting

    • IOLTA Home
    • IOLTA FAQ

    Licensing Fees

    • Licensing Fee FAQ
    • Licensing Fee Payment

    Status Changes

    • Status Changes FAQ
    • Inactive Status Form
    • Retired Status Form
    • Active Pro Bono Status Form
    • Reinstatement Forms
    • Resignation Form A
    • Pending Reinstatements

    Unlawful Practice of Law

    • UPL Information
    • UPL FAQ

    Pro Hac Vice/Arbitration

    • Pro Hac Vice
    • Arbitration

    New Lawyer Mentoring Program

    • New Lawyer Mentoring Program Home

    Professional Liability Fund

    • Professional Liability
      Fund Website
For The Public

Public Information Home
Legal Information Topics
Oregon Juror Guide
Finding The Right Lawyer
Hiring A Lawyer
Lawyers Fees
Client Assistance Office
Public Records Request
Unlawful Practice of Law
Fee Dispute Resolution
Client Security Fund
Volunteer Opportunities
for the Public

For Members

BarBooks®
Bulletin Archive
Career Center
Fastcase™
Judicial Vacancies
Legal Ethics Opinions
OSB Group Listings
OSB Login
OSB Rules & Regs
SLAC Info
Surveys and Reports
Volunteer Opportunities

CLE/Legal Pubs

CLE Seminars Home
Legal Publications Home

Bar Programs

Diversity & Inclusion
Fee Arbitration/Mediation
Legal Services Program
Legislative/Public Affairs
Loan Repayment
Assistance Program

Oregon Law Foundation
Pro Bono

Member Groups

Board of Governors
Committees
House of Delegates
Volunteer Bars
Oregon New
Lawyers Division

OSB Sections
Professionalism
Commission

Volunteer Opportunities

About The Bar

About the Bar
ADA Notice
Contact Info
Copyright Notice
Directions to the Bar
Meeting Room Rentals
Mission Statement
OSB Job Opportunities
Privacy Policy
Staff Directory
Terms of Use

Licensing/Compliance

Admissions
Client Assistance Office
Client Security Fund
IOLTA Reporting
Lawyer Discipline
MCLE
Member Fee FAQ
New Lawyer
Mentoring Program

Professional Liability Fund
Status Changes

Oregon State Bar Center

Phone: (503) 620-0222
Toll-free in Oregon: (800) 452-8260
Facsimile: (503) 684-1366

Building Location:
16037 SW Upper Boones Ferry Road
Tigard, OR 97224

Mailing Address:
PO Box 231935
Tigard, OR 97281

Oregon State Bar location Map

Copyright ©1997 Oregon State Bar  ®All rights reserved | ADA Notice | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use